ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘telematics’ CATEGORY

Geotab, an industry leading telematics engineering company, recentley announced that it has released its IOX-CAN extender, a plug-and-play solution that allows partners to send data from their device over a private CAN network in the vehicle supporting integrations on all vehicle types.

A number of companies are already leveraging the IOX-CAN extender to send data from their devices to the MyGeotab system. Geotab’s integration with Mobileye, a technology company that develops vision-based Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) providing warnings for collision prevention and mitigation, has been upgraded with the IOX-CAN [quote float="left"]“Our solutions are designed to make the roads safer for everyone as the issue of distracted driving continues to be a problem"

extender allowing full support for all vehicle types, including OBDII vehicles. Geotab’s new add-on solution allows Mobileye devices to plug into Geotab’s GO6 and GO7 devices, thereby allowing Mobileye data to be sent to the MyGeotab software platform, where it can be viewed and analysed by dispatchers and fleet managers.

 

Elad Serfaty, VP and General Manager Mobileye Aftermarket, said, “Our solutions are designed to make the roads safer for everyone as the issue of distracted driving continues to be a problem. Working with Geotab allows us to not only provide feedback to the driver, and with managers who can effect change where needed, but we can do this across all vehicle types.”

“Expanding our integration capabilities and continuing our work with Mobileye is a natural evolution as more and more companies realise the benefits of fleet management,” said Neil Cawse, CEO, Geotab. “Providing collision warnings to drivers just before a crash is the first step to creating a safer driving environment for everyone.”

 

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Security integration specialist Scottish Communications Group (SCG) has cut thousands of pounds from its annual fuel bill following the introduction of Fleetmatics’ fleet and vehicle tracking technology. The firm, a leading supplier of integrated security systems including CCTV, access control and digital radio communications, installed the Fleetmatics system and has reaped the rewards of reduced overheads and improved customer service over the past three years.

Scottish Communications Group was seeking real-time insight into the movements of its 10 field-based engineers, who serve commercial customers throughout Scotland and as far afield as the South East of England.

Liam Mowat, technical director of Scottish Communications Group, said: “We primarily decided to use a tracking solution so we could identify and assign support call-outs to the nearest available engineer, due to the fact that we cover such a large geographic customer base. Response times are very important in upholding the level of service that our customers expect, and the system has enabled our service desk to respond even more quickly and efficiently.”

An additional benefit of the system has been a significant reduction in fuel costs, which adds up to thousands of pounds over the course of a full year. “By utilising the nearest available engineer and ensuring they follow the optimal route to a customer site, we have reduced travel costs, which has been very significant at a time when we are growing as a company,” said Mr Mowat.

Further efficiencies have been secured by using the timesheet feature and fuel card integration module to save on administrative time and accurately correlate costs. “The system has enabled us to determine exactly how much fuel has been used on a particular job, how much time was spent and how efficiently we are operating, all of which had to be figured out manually before,” added Mr Mowat. “There’s absolutely no question that the system has more than paid for itself and I would highly recommend it.”

From a health and safety perspective, Scottish Communications Group is also using the Fleetmatics system to confirm that legal speed limits are always adhered to. The company also has the ability to provide evidence in any case where a complaint is made about driver performance, although this is not an issue that the company has encountered to date.

Scottish Communications Group, founded in 1979, has built such a reputation for outstanding customer service that it was awarded the coveted Royal Warrant for the supply of communications equipment to Her Majesty the Queen. In addition. The company has achieved the highest industry standard, NACOSS Gold, as well as holding many other industry accreditations.

 

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Kwik Fit has achieved accreditation to the Freight Transport Association’s Van Excellence scheme after introducing a series of safe driving initiatives capped by the installation of telematics devices in its entire 200-strong fleet of mobile vans.

Following telematics implementation in the fleet six months ago, Kwik Fit has recorded an 8% saving on fuel bills as a result of technicians adopting a smoother and safer style of driving when at the wheel of the Mobile units.

Additionally, average fuel economy across the Mobile fleet has increased from 22mpg to 25mpg - a 13% improvement partly as a result of safer driving, but also due a reduction in vehicle idling, which is also monitored.

The saving builds on improvements made in the preceding two years when economy increased from 17mpg to 22mpg after Kwik Fit started to publish fuel consumption data on a van-by-van basis following introduction of ‘track and trace’ vehicle technology.

Introduction of the Telogis telematics technology has initially focused on using data recorded by the in-vehicle systems to influence driver behaviour and reduce fleet operating costs.

Kwik Fit fleet operations director Simon Lucas said: “We have witnessed a dramatic reduction in speeding, harsh braking and acceleration by technicians who have improved their driving style as a consequence of being monitored.

More than 100 fleets are now “accredited operators” to Van Excellence and Mr Lucas said: “It demonstrates clearly Kwik Fit’s commitment to duty of care and corporate responsibility and highlights that our fleet of Mobile vans is professionally managed.”

In congratulating Kwik Fit on its accreditation, Mark Cartwright, head of vans at the Freight Transport Association, said: “Van Excellence represents what good looks like in terms of van operations. We are delighted to recognise the excellent compliance standard demonstrated by Kwik Fit’s mobile service and have therefore awarded it Van Excellence accreditation.”

Kwik Fit is among a host of high-profile businesses that have gained Van Excellence accreditation for their fleets since the initiative was launched in 2010.

Van Excellence was created in order to promote high standards of van operation and driving by accrediting operators against an industry code of good practice. Operators register their interest and receive details of the Van Excellence Code, then present themselves for audit when they are ready.

 

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Ford Motor Company and Telogis launched "Ford Telematics powered by Telogis" yesterday, providing actionable information from Ford commercial vehicles that helps customers reduce fuel costs up to 20 percent^*, reduce their environmental impact and increase driver safety.

Since 2011, Telogis has been the exclusive technology provider to power Ford Crew Chief in North America, the industry’s most comprehensive and scalable telematics solution for commercial customers. The European expansion of the Telogis-Ford partnership leverages the success of Crew Chief and will meet the demand from current and new Ford customers for visibility into day-to-day operations including vehicle/driver location, vehicle and driver performance and exclusive Ford vehicle diagnostics.

“Ford of Europe is delivering on customer demand for visibility, cost savings and safety with Ford Telematics powered by Telogis,” said Bill Frykman, manager, business and product development at Ford Motor Company. “Telogis is our trusted partner, and the success we’ve had with Ford customers in North America made them the only choice for Ford’s European platform offering.”

Making its debut at the 2014 IAA Hannover Commercial Vehicle Show, Ford Telematics powered by Telogis will be available to fleet customers as a dealer-installed option in selected European markets, offered through Ford’s network of specialist Transit Centers, and is warrantied and serviceable at Ford dealerships throughout Europe.

“The launch of Ford Telematics powered by Telogis in Europe is an extension of what has become the industry-standard in OEM telematics in North America,” said Greg Dziewit, vice president, OEM business at Telogis. “Making this offering available to Ford’s European customers will help them run more efficient, cost-effective and safer fleets and transform the way they do business.”

Based on the real-time data, the Ford Telematics powered by Telogis software platform delivers a comprehensive range of actionable business information that enables fleet managers to operate their vehicles in the most efficient way and to help ensure drivers are following safe and economical driving practices.

“Ford Telematics is another example of Ford facilitating the delivery of smart technology to help our customers enjoy the highest quality, safest and most sustainable operation of commercial vehicles available today,” said Steve Barrow, commercial vehicles service operations manager, Ford of Europe.

Demonstrations and more information about the Ford Telematics powered by Telogis offering can be by visiting the Ford stand, Hall 13, No. C54 at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show which opens later this week in Hannover, Germany.

 

A recent report into the telematics sector undertaken by Juniper Research has identified that in-vehicle apps is anticipated to reach almost 270 million within the next four five years. This represents an increase of more than five fold on last year’s figures.

The findings are revealed in the report Connected Cars: Consumer & Commercial Telematics and Infotainment 2014-2018, which also indicates that the dramatic growth in the market will be driven solutions such as Apple’s CarPlay, which will raise awareness of and introduce the concept of in-vehicle apps to the general populace.

The report also suggests that app integration will become simpler as more standardised approaches such as MirrorLink become adopted by Original Equipment Manufacturers.

Report Author Anthony Cox commented “By 2018 most new vehicles will come with integrated apps as standard, after-market app integration will also be commonplace, as head-unit manufacturers launch increasingly sophisticated devices”.

However, Cox also noted that as with smartphone apps, only a small proportion of in-vehicle apps will create revenues for their creators, despite the fact that many will enhance the driving experience.

Given that a number of high profile companies already have such as NavMan, Garmin and TomTom already have a strong presence in driving related smart phone apps, the market may be harder for smaller developers to break through as well.

Meanwhile Google have also ramped up their efforts in the in-vehicle app space with the announcement of their new voice based system Android Auto which will connect Android smartphones to the existing display of compatible cars

In a similar move to Apple’s CarPlay, Google has opted for a USB plug & play option rather than hardwiring their OS to every available car. With both OEM and After Market Manufactures seeming to be moving toward dual integration across iOS and Android it seems that it will be easier to avoid being tied into any particular ecosystem when it comes to this growing market of in-vehicle apps.

 

Google put much of their focus on safety with Android Auto trying to move the driver away from any physical use of their smartphone whilst on the road, claiming to make full use of the latest voice recognition algorithms.

However, there are still doubts around Google’s voice recognition, which lags far behind Apple’s powerful Siri system. Google Voice must improve vastly if it is to sit at the heart of a hands free system positioned as a big safety feature.

With in-vehicle apps now coming into the main stream the connected vehicle is becoming very much no longer a thing of the future but something that is practically in the hear and now and vehicle manufacturers are gearing their models to house the systems now.

Audi have committed to implementing Android Auto in some of their 2015 models and both Volvo and Mercedes have also confirmed that they will be supporting both Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto.

Whilst in-vehicle technology is often a little behind other standard electronics devices due to a more rigorous testing process than other standalone devices. To be fair you’d expect your car to last a lot longer than your mobile phone so the standards for in-vehicle technology are a lot higher.

However, it does seem that finally the motor industry has become smart about technology and whilst we have seen many benefits come from telematics in professional fleet management, the further adoption of in-vehicle apps will only serve to both reduce costs and drive development forward.

 

City West Works was established as a subsidiary of City West Housing Trust in April 2013 and carries out maintenance works on the housing association’s 14,600 homes across West Salford.

In its first year, the City West Works carried out almost 50,000 repairs jobs and answered more than 150,000 calls in its service centre.

The challenge

City West Works has a range of tradesman from roofers to electricians working in their team, all playing key roles in maintaining strong customer relations and working to improve customer homes. With many tradesmen on the road daily, City West Works needed a solution that could not only track their location but help reduce CO2 emissions and rising fuel costs.

The solution

Masternaut offered City West Works a solution that could provide benefits above and beyond simple vehicle tracking. Masternaut’s solution can monitor for poor driving habits through a points system where drivers are scored against vehicle economy and driving behaviour, alerting them to any bad manoeuvres they make.

Co-ordination challenges were also minimised with at-a-glance visibility of vehicle whereabouts at any given time.

The outcome

Since implementing Masternaut’s solution, City West Works has seen economical improvements in employee driving habits.  The solution has been installed across 105 of City West Works’ vehicles, with a plan to extend the contract for another two years.

Managers receive weekly email reports that accurately monitor and record the behaviour of their drivers and determine those who are exhibiting the best driving performance. Poor driving habits such as harsh; cornering, breaking, acceleration and speeding are all measured and put forward in these reports. Managers can then approach drivers performing poorly and discuss ways of improving their driving with guidance from Masternaut. These reports not only helped the managers gain a good overview of their team’s driver behaviour but also aided with their KPIs.

The Masternaut solution also provides an additional HR benefit with managers being able to remotely monitor their employees’ location in real time therefore providing added security. The solution can also help provide evidence against claims where customers state a tradesman has not turned up to a job.

Commenting on the results John Ashworth, Facilities Officer at City West Works said:

“Cutting down CO2 emissions and reducing fuel costs have been high priorities for us. We’ve saved just short of £17,000 in fuel alone and reduced CO2 emissions by 40.6 tonnes thanks to Masternaut’s solution. The reports Masternaut provide us with allows managers to see how drivers are wasting fuel and put a stop to this. Since April last year we have also started receiving a second report from Masternaut on a month to month basis showing how much fuel and Co2 savings we have made.

We chose Masternaut following a full process and when compared against competitors, Masternaut was the overall better choice against other tenders.” 

 

Giles Margerison, TomTom Telematics’ Director UK & Ireland, considers how field service firms can best organise their resources to cope with the holiday season.

The arrival of summer usually receives a warm welcome on these shores but that's not to say it's without its challenges.

Field service companies, in particular, face the often taxing issue of ensuring service levels don't drop below expected standards during a period of resource instability.

The need for smart planning to cope with staff holidays is made ever more pressing by the continued growth of the service sector, as economic recovery keeps gathering pace, and the shift from a transactional to a relationship economy.

Customers expect higher standards of customer service and expertise from field workers than perhaps ever before and those companies capable of meeting this demand will be best equipped to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Data as the foundation for good planning

Of course, good service delivery relies upon effective planning. On a basic level this means coordinating holidays with expected workloads to ensure staffing and skills levels remain sufficient through the summer period.

But there is a need for organisations to become ever more sophisticated in order to cope with the changing face of the UK economy and this is where 'big data' can help.

Armed with the appropriate data, it is possible for field service companies to work out how many jobs their staff are able to attend in a day, accounting for factors such as time spent on the road journeying between jobs.

For example, using routing and scheduling software integrated with real-time data from telematics allows working schedules to be optimised, planning each mobile worker's day to ensure they spend as little time as possible out on the road.

Once work schedules are finalised, the details can be sent to each worker's in-cab navigation device, with navigation automatically loaded to send them along the quickest route, taking into account the effect of traffic flow, roundabouts, traffic lights and other obstacles.

Shifting scheduling from static to dynamic

Variables such as traffic or the emergence or unexpected, urgent call-outs can throw a spanner in the works, hence the need for  dynamic methods of planning.

Rather than setting workflow schedules in stone at the start of each day, field service organisations might be better served by planning on the fly with real-time information in order to make better use of resources and ensure the absence of staff isn't felt.

As such, telematics systems are able to make use of live traffic information to provide accurate times of arrival. If a worker gets held up severely by traffic or a delay in their previous job, the next most appropriate colleague can be dispatched in their place, or at the very least customer expectations can be managed.

Similarly, in the case of emergency call-outs, the system will automatically allocate the best-placed person to take the job, according to the time it will take them to arrive on site, rather than merely distance.

Dynamic schedules can also be tailored to complete both high-priority call-outs and low-priority, scheduled appointments in the most efficient manner. For example, if a worker is called to an urgent job on the same street where a regular visit is planned for later in the week, it often makes sense to complete both jobs at once, reducing the number of man hours wasted.

There's an app for that

Such dynamic scheduling takes into account staffing levels, availability and a host of other factors to ensure the available resources are most efficiently used but doesn't necessarily address any skills shortage that might occur when temporary staff are drafted in during the summer months to help service demand.

However, you’ll be pleased to know ‘there's an app for that'. The remarkable acceleration in the development of business technology means mobile workers can now benefit from a number of applications designed specifically to take advantage of logging workflow and process on one device, which makes their lives easier.

These apps, for example, allow the driver to conduct daily vehicle checks on their driver terminal or tablet device, ticking off each element on a pre-defined list before the details are sent automatically to the office for their records.

Once this is completed, the driver's workflow can be automatically loaded to their device, with navigation queued up for each job as necessary.

Upon arrival at a site, the worker will automatically be sent full details of the job along with any manuals that are required, ensuring they have the requisite knowledge at their fingertips.

There is such a range of technological solutions now available that companies can ensure whatever system is implemented will be tailored to the precise needs of the organisation, the industry and the customer.

End-to-end business systems, which build a seamless link between field and back office, remove the element of uncertainly that might have previously surrounded summer staffing and allow field service companies to deliver year-round, uninterrupted, first-class service.

 

The fleet management industry has seen some radical changes in recent years but the future promises to deliver innovations far beyond anything we have seen so far. Our friends at SmartVan.com have been taking a closer look at the technologies that will shape fleet management in the not so distant future…

Field service technicians are road warriors who often spend a lot of time behind the wheel. But those hours spent driving to the next service call (or sitting in traffic) can mean overtime for techs who need to finish the day’s work. A new wave of Internet-connected vehicles, however, could turn the field service engineer’s vehicle into a mobile office.

“This year is a tipping point,” Gartner analyst Thilo Koslowski told The Wall Street Journal. “There has been a lot of talk about apps in cars, but from 2014 forward, the revolution really happens.”

Here are a few features that drivers can expect to find in their next work truck or van:

4G high-speed Internet: Next year, GM and Audi are set to release automobiles with high-speed Internet and touch-screen dashboards, so drivers won’t even need to look at their smartphones.

In-car app store: BMW is developing an app store, similar to the iTunes App Store, to enable users to purchase mobile apps for their vehicles.

Vehicle data tracking: Automobile manufacturers are working with software developers to pull data from the cars themselves, such as MPG data, idling information as well as driver behaviour.

With these high-tech updates, field service engineers should no longer be stranded without a connection. Of course as with other advances in telematics this will also lead to bigger improvements in driver safety.

However, despite all of these improvements to vehicles the fact remains that distracted driving is inevitable — whether it’s checking an urgent text message from the boss or mopping up spilled coffee — any field service manager would be hard-pressed to find a member of their team that hasn’t experienced a time when their eyes weren’t exactly glued to the road.

 

While not a comforting thought, it’s a reality for field service technicians who are juggling full schedules, heavy traffic and route navigation, to name a few.

Yet, this very human issue of distracted driving may soon be a thing of the past. Recently Google showed off a prototype of its self-driving car, a vehicle without a steering wheel, gas or brake pedal, “because they don’t need them,” Google announced.

While the current prototype can only go as fast as 25 mph, the promise for the future of fleet management could include better route and fuel efficiency, safer driving, and giving field service engineers the ability to answer email and work while on the road.

For urban fleets, the vehicle could even drop the field tech off at the service location, go find parking for itself and then be summoned to pick the tech up once the call is finished. This scenario, however, is contingent on the California Department of Motor Vehicles (and then beyond) adjusting their regulations for autonomous vehicles to allow them to travel without a licensed human driver behind the wheel.

“Ever since we started the Google self-driving car project, we’ve been working toward the goal of vehicles that can shoulder the entire burden of driving,”  Chris Urmson, director of Google’s Self-Driving Car Project. “Just imagine: You can take a trip downtown at lunchtime without a 20-minute buffer to find parking. Seniors can keep their freedom even if they can’t keep their car keys. And drunk and distracted driving? History.”

One challenge to overcome whilst we await for the robot car revolution is that while night driving is inevitable, it comes with an increase in safety risks for drivers.

Well-lit roads are vital for preventing accidents and keeping drivers safe, but governments have struggled with the costs of maintaining street lamps. In the Netherlands, for example it has been reported in the government is shutting down streetlights at night to save money.

To solve this, designer Daan Roosegaarde has partnered with Heijmans, a Dutch civil engineering firm, to create interactive highways that are lit at night with luminescent paint that allows them to glow in the dark. Says Roosegaard, “This road is about safety and envisaging a more self-sustainable and more interactive world.”

A 500-meter stretch of a Dutch highway is the first real-world test case for these technologies.

The green glow in the dark paint charges in the daylight and can glow for up to 8 hours at night. However, the project still has some questions to be asked b efore being accepted as a viable alternative to elective lighting. For example, does the product perform on short winter days and long nights or under overcast and cloudy conditions?

Regardless it seems certain that the future of fleet management is set to see changes in the near future.

Masternaut, one Europe’s largest provider of telematics solutions, has been working with logistics firm Currie European since October 2008, delivering both vehicle tracking and driver behaviour monitoring functionality to the business.

The deployment has generated a marked uplift in the productivity of Currie European’s fleet, which operates across the whole of Europe and was awarded the Transport News Scottish European Haulier of the Year award for 2014.

Masternaut’s system has facilitated improved fleet planning, with at-a-glance visibility of every vehicle enabling the organisation to cut down on wasted journey time while sharing exact whereabouts of vehicles and expected arrival times with customers. The driver behaviour module has also allowed Currie European to monitor the safety of its drivers, highlighting habits such as speeding or vehicle idling in order to deliver preventative measures and issue training where necessary. As a result, Currie European has recently renewed its contract with Masternaut for a further five years.

Steve Walls, Business Systems Director at Currie European, comments: “Masternaut’s system has had a huge impact on our business. Since bringing on the solution in 2008, we’ve been able to significantly improve the operational efficiency of our fleet.”

“Improving our productivity has had a knock-on effect on customer service; we can ensure we always reach our customers in time, while keeping them better-informed en-route. What’s more, we share this fleet intelligence directly with customers, allowing them to view exactly where our vehicles are on a map-based interface generated in real time by Masternaut’s data, via our customer portal.”

Martin Hiscox, chairman and CEO of Masternaut, adds: “Managing the efficient coordination of a fleet the size of Currie European is no easy task.  By using our solution, Steve and his team are exemplifying how telematics can be used to not only drive tangible business benefits back to the organisation, but also to deliver significant service improvements to its own customers.

As Currie European goes from to strength to strength, we look forward to a continued successful partnership as we enable the business to keep tabs on its ever-expanding fleet.”